Monday, September 28, 2015

Oscilloscope Laboraties To Celebrate All Things New York City Beginning On Oct. 13

For Oscilloscope Laboratories it is a month-long celebration
of all things New York City beginning on Oct. 13 with writer/director David
Riker’s 1998 film release of La Ciudad (aka: The City) and ending with
the Nov. 17 filmmaker Manfred Kirchheimer’s 1981 magical trip across New York
City in Stations of the Elevated with music by Charles Mingus.

Midway through this celebration is the Oct. 27 DVD release
of documentary filmmaker Charlie Ahearn’s 2013 focus on the life and work of
Brooklyn’s famed street photographer Jamel Shabazz.Titled simply Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer,
this documentary had a brief arthouse run and arrives on DVD with an ARR of 816
days.

It took six long years for David Riker to complete La
Ciudad, his award-winning story about the struggles of Latin American
migrants and their attempts to make a go of it in the big city.In these four vignettes — titled “Bricks
(Ladrillos),” “Home (Casa),” “The Puppeteer (Titiriero)” and “Seamstress
(Costurera)” — we learn that it isn’t always fair and more than a few people
are quick to take advantage of the precarious situations in which Riker’s
subjects often find themselves.

Bonus features for this new 2K restoration and transfer
includes the 28-minute documentary on the marking of La Ciudad, which is
titled Cinema from Below, and a newly-prepared video session with
filmmaker David Riker and several of the film’s cast members.

Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer explores the decades-long
work of famed photographer Jamel Shabazz, which is a blend of history, art,
hiphop and cultural statements.Thoughout Shabazz is front and center and a documentarian in his own
right on the subjects — and people — that he has explored on the streets of the
city.

Bonus features include two new “additions” to Ahearn’s film
— “Jamel Shabazz Reflects on His Photos” (filmed in 2014) and “Ahearn Talks
Shabazz” (filmed earlier this year) — and outtakes from the film.

Oscilloscope’s homage to New York City concludes on Nov. 17
with filmmaker Manfred Kirchheimer’s 1981 experimental/avant garde “trip”
though the city’s seemingly endless maze of subway lines.Stations of the Elevated is a film
that is to be enjoyed for its simple, yet earthy visuals — things that New
Yorkers see every day and take for granted — all set to the musical
interpretations of jazz legend Charles Mingus.

This double-disc special edition release comes packed with
bonus goodies.There are four
additional short films from Kirchheimer — Colossus on the River, Claw, Short Circuit and
Bridge High — which are accompanied by newly-filmed video sessions
featuring Kirchheimer commenting on each film, a featurette titled “Writer’s
Bench” and the short video titled “A Brief History of Manfred
Kirchheimer.”